Will Counter-Strike 2 come to Steam Deck?

Wondering if you’d be able to play Counter-Strike 2 on Steam Deck? We tell you everything you need to know about CS2’s playability on the Steam Deck.

Counter-Strike 2 might be officially released today. While Valve has teased about the game’s release, it has not spilled any beans on how CS2 will perform on Valve‘s Steam Deck handheld.

While specifics are still scarce, early signs point to the Steam Deck being ready to run CS2 smoothly. Valve’s Source 2 game engine that will power CS2 is a modern, versatile technology that should pair well with Steam Deck’s capable AMD chipset.

For reference, the Source 2 engine runs Dota 2 flawlessly on the Deck. Users have even gotten the advanced Source 2-based VR game Half-Life: Alyx, working through inventive workarounds.

Considering the Steam Deck can handle Source 2’s most demanding implementations so far, an optimized version of CS2 seems well within its capabilities. While the Steam Deck is just a few years old and the Steam Deck 2 is still a few years away, Valve likely kept their hotly anticipated CS sequel in mind when designing the handheld’s specs and performance.

In short, the iconic Counter-Strike franchise seems destined for the Steam Deck. Although CS2 is about to launch, Valve’s impressive handheld hardware should be primed to immediately deliver a top-notch portable CS2 experience.

Will Counter-Strike 2 run on Steam Deck?

Valve

While not officially confirmed, it almost certain that Valve will ensure the Steam Deck runs Counter-Strike 2. Counter-Strike: Global Offensive runs nearly perfectly on the Steam Deck, and with the maximum resolution – unless docked – being capped at 1280×800, we’re confident that the game will play great there too.

Not only is this Valve’s very first massive hardware success but Counter-Strike 2 is presumably following a lot of other esports titles’ design ethos.

Valve and a lot of other developers have ensured that the games they publish to run on nearly everything. This is to assist in Eastern markets where internet cafes are still a big deal, or in poorer areas around the world.

Looking over Source 2 mods of Half-Life: Alyx and the already impressive performance for much more taxing games, the Steam Deck is more than likely to be the best way to play the game on the go.

The only issue you’re going to run into is the lack of a mouse and keyboard, but we’re yet to see if Valve intends to split the player base between the controller and traditional players.

Counter-Strike 2 launches Summer 2023 on PC. A limited test is already available for select players.

For more information about Counter-Strike 2, make sure to check out the links below:

How to play Counter-Strike 2 limited beta test | Is Counter-Strike 2 going to be free to play? | What is sub-tick in Counter-Strike 2? | All smoke changes in Counter-Strike 2 | Can you play Counter-Strike 2 on Linux or macOS? | Can banned CS:GO players play Counter-Strike 2? | What will happen to my CSGO skins? | Will Counter-Strike 2 come to Steam Deck? | Valve officially reveals Counter-Strike 2 | Everything we know about Counter-Strike 2